What Would I Do Without You
by TartanLioness
Summary: Grace is in a car crash and Boyd realises how close he came to losing her. G/B.
1. Chapter 1

Title:

Title: What Would I Do Without You

Author: TartanLioness

Summary: Grace is in a car crash and Boyd realises how close he came to losing her.

Author's Notes: This is set after series 6 but before series 7, as I haven't seen that yet.

Grace slammed the door to Boyd's office with more force than she had intended to. She didn't care, though; didn't care if the door flew off its hinges, if she made Boyd deaf or if the younger members of the team stared at her in astonishment. She was far too angry to care. He'd done it again. That thing he kept doing. Belittling her work. Being snide about her inputs to the case. Shutting her out to keep her from getting close. It was a mixture of personal and work-related issues and it had all resulted in yet another row.

She strode into her own office and grabbed her coat and handbag. It was late; they were technically off the clock, although Boyd – true to form – had kept them late.

"I'm going home," she told Spencer and Stella who were gaping at her in shock. She knew what they were thinking. _Is she leaving again?_ "I'll see you tomorrow," she assured them quickly before she marched out of the office, leaving the CCU building still fuming.

The rain started to fall in earnest as she reached her car and got in, slamming the car door with unnecessary force. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white at the effort. She probably shouldn't drive, she mused, but she was too agitated to stay in the office, she had to get away from it. It was late. They were off the clock. Boyd couldn't do anything about her leaving.

Boyd stared angrily at the door to his office. Why did the bloody woman always have to be so infuriating? First of all, he had the right to judge that her work wasn't really helping the case. Hell, it _wasn't_! It wasn't just him being a pain in the arse for once. And she had _no right_ to go snooping in his personal life. Why did she always have to psychoanalyse him?! And now she had left the office, he had watched her grab her things and leave, her head held high. _Well good riddance,_ he thought cruelly. Maybe now they could get some _actual_ work done. And it wasn't like his relationship with Sarah was any of her bloody business anyway, he mused, standing and leaving the office to join the others. Spencer was just walking in, dripping wet and holding a few packets of chocolate digestives. He tossed one to Stella and sat down at his desk with the other one.

"Did you take a shower on the way?" Stella teased, opening her packet and pulling out a biscuit.

"No," Spencer grumbled. "It's pouring down. I'm soaked to the bone. All for a few packs of bloody digestives."

"Yeah, but they're _chocolate_ digestives," Stella implored as if it made a difference. Spencer looked as if he was about to retort, but Boyd interrupted.

"All right, let's get back to the case."

The rain was drumming on Grace's windshield as she drove home, blurring her vision. Or maybe the thing blurring her vision were her own tears, she wasn't sure. She wiped her eyes, angry at herself for letting Boyd get to her like this. Problem was, when it came to Sarah, Grace _was_ just being nosey. Asking him if something had gone wrong with Sarah since he was in such a bad mood had little to do with friendly concern and far more to do with her wanting, _needing_ to know.

They used to talk. But since Mel's death, Boyd had become even more bottled up than before and he was shutting even Grace out of his life, something which pained her more than she'd ever admit to.

Grace never noticed the car going in the opposite direction before it was too late. It swerved on the slippery road, the driver lost control as he tried to right it and then excruciating pain followed by blissful darkness. She never heard the screeching as a car came to a halt to help, never heard the frantic voice calling for an ambulance, never heard the sobbing young man who could step out of his car almost unharmed… never heard the sirens as the ambulance arrived.

Boyd's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked up and gestured at Spence to come in just as his phone rang.

"Sit down," Boyd said before answering the phone. "Boyd."

"_Detective Superintendent Peter Timothy Boyd?"_ an unfamiliar, formal sounding voice asked. Boyd answered affirmatively, wondering how they knew his never-used middle name. _"Are you the next of kin of Grace Foley?"_ Boyd felt the blood drain from his face and his grip on the receiver weaken. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat and reply but couldn't. _"Sir?"_

"Yes," he finally managed hoarsely. "Yes I am. What's happened?" Spencer looked at him with concern written all over his strong face as Boyd listened to the short, uninformative explanation. "Which hospital?" he demanded impatiently, his jaw clenched. "Thank you." He hung up.

"What happened?" Spencer asked, following Boyd out of the office.

"Grace. Car accident. Guy's hospital."

Stella looked up, horrified. "Grace is in the hospital?"

Boyd didn't answer, just strode out, but Spencer nodded, answering her question silently. She squeezed her eyes shut, cursing to herself in French. Spencer ran after Boyd to catch up with the older man.

"I'll drive you, Boss."

"I'm not a child, Spence, I am perfectly able to drive myself," Boyd bit back. Spencer didn't react to his tone, just said quietly, "You're upset, Sir. Grace was upset. The roads are wet and slippery. We'll just end up with another accident and honestly, I don't think the team can spare the both of you."

Boyd sighed and handed him the car keys, pushing the notion of why Grace had been upset while driving home to the back of his mind and the feeling of guilt to the pit of his stomach.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Title: What Would I Do Without You

Author: TartanLioness

Summary: Grace is in a car crash and Boyd realises how close he came to losing her.

Author's Notes: This is set after series 6 but before series 7, as I haven't seen that yet.

--

The drive was quiet, Boyd caught up in his own thoughts and Spencer unable to find the right words.

When they finally found Grace – Boyd had shown an amazing amount of restraint with the uninformed nurses – she had already been patched up and was lying in a hospital bed with her eyes closed and a bandage around her head. Boyd stopped abruptly in his tracks when he saw her. Her face was pale and there were still bits of dried blood in her hair although the nurses had washed it off her face.

Spencer walked over to the bedside and put his hand on Grace's, gently touching her, reassuring himself that she was all right. Grace opened her eyes and smiled weakly at the young man.

"Hello, Spencer," she croaked.

"Hey Grace," he replied, squeezing her hand. "You gave us quite a scare, you know."

"I'm sorry." Her eyes left Spencer's and looked behind him, noticing Boyd who stood frozen, staring at her. She frowned, wincing at the pain in her forehead. "Boyd?" She spoke his name in a louder tone of voice, bringing him out of his trance. He smiled stiffly.

"How are you, Grace?"

"Like I was in a car crash," she said lightly. Boyd frowned and opened his mouth to say that it wasn't funny, but Grace cut him off wearily. "I've got a hell of a headache, Boyd, so don't even think about yelling at me, all right?"

He looked affronted. "I wasn't going to."

"Yes you were," Grace said matter-of-factly. Spencer looked from Grace to Boyd and back at Grace. Then he cleared his throat.

"Glad you're all right, Grace. I'm just gonna phone Stella and Eve." He excused himself and left Grace and Boyd alone. For several moments, they just looked at each other. Finally Boyd stepped up next to her and reached out to touch the bandage around her head. Grace bit her lower lip, wondering about the intimate gesture.

"I'm sorry, Grace," Boyd said, his quiet voice full of anguish, his hand falling to his side.

"What for?" Grace asked, surprised. "This was hardly your fault. The doctors said it wasn't even _my_ fault so how can it be yours?"

"You were upset when you left, you shouldn't even be driving… but I drove you out of the office, didn't I?"

Grace sighed miserably. "No, Boyd. This wasn't your fault. I'm a grown woman; I make my own decisions. If anyone is to blame for this, it's me. But as it happens, the accident wasn't my fault. I don't think I could have avoided the car, even if I'd had a clear mind and it hadn't been raining. It was just a series of unfortunate events. Nothing happened though, Boyd. I'm okay. The young man is okay." The long speech had tired her and she closed her eyes, her headache pounding worse than ever.

"You were hurt," Boyd said quietly. Grace opened her eyes and looked at him.

"It's just a concussion. I'll be fine."

Boyd nodded but he didn't look convinced.

"What is it, Peter?" Grace asked gently. She wanted to ask him to talk to her, but that hadn't gone well the other times she'd tried and she somehow didn't think it would now. But he didn't need the encouragement.

"That phone call, Grace…" He shook his head slowly, looking at her mattress instead of directly at her. "I… it was just too much like Mel. I kept imagining all the worst case scenarios. You, hurt; you, blood pouring from your head; you, dead. My fault." His voice shook as he talked. Grace closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears that stung them not to fall. "I'm sorry for the things I said earlier, Grace. I… I didn't mean it."

"Well," she said with a crooked smile. "You weren't entirely off the mark, were you?" She bit her lip and took a split second decision, reaching out to take his hand. "I _was_ being nosey about you and Sarah. And I'm sorry; I guess it really is none of my business."

"Of course it is, Grace. You're my friend. I just… didn't want to tell you that it's over."

"What is?" Grace frowned. "You and Sarah?" Boyd nodded. "Her idea?" He nodded again. She sighed. "You could have told me, Boyd. I wouldn't think less of you because of it, you know."

"Yeah, but it proves you right, doesn't it?" he said bitterly. She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Sarah ended it. Clearly I _am_ repressed, depressed and _unloved_."

"Oh, Boyd," Grace sighed. "That is not true. It isn't true now and it wasn't true then and I knew it. Well, you are repressed and depressed," she said lightly. "But you are not unloved and you weren't when I said that. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing and I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, but it is true though."

"No it's not," Grace said firmly, wondering briefly how far she'd have to go to convince him. He gave a bark of bitter laughter.

"Of course not. Who do I have, Grace?"

"You honestly don't know?" Grace whispered painfully. His eyes moved from the mattress to meet hers and saw the glistening of tears in their depths.

"Grace?" he asked quietly, wonder in his voice as one possible meaning of her words reverberated in his mind. _She loves me?_ She shrugged meekly, her eyes averted and nodded. His heart soared. _She loves me!_ "You know," Boyd started in a business-like tone of voice and Grace's face fell. She closed her eyes against the shop talk that would inevitably follow her admission. "Sarah said when she left that you were in love with me. I suppose she was right."

Grace stared at him for a few moments, wondering what the hell he was talking about. He smiled gently at her and took her hand in his. "Sarah also said that I was obviously in love with you."

Grace looked down at their joined hands, biting down the small smile that threatened to break out on her face as he caressed her knuckles.

"Oh? Was she right about that, too?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows, a smile creeping up on her face in spite of her genuine attempt to suppress it. Boyd's eyes locked with hers and even before he replied, she knew what his answer would be.

He nodded.

Grace's eyes glimmered with unshed tears and she didn't bother to suppress the smile that broke out on her face. Boyd leaned down, letting his fingers feather over her cheek before finally putting his lips to hers. When he pulled back, Grace moaned almost inaudibly and put her hand at the back of his neck, pulling him close again. He smiled against her mouth and kissed her back deeply.

When they pulled apart, Grace leaned back in her pillows, her eyes still closed. Although appearing calm, on the inside she was jumping with joy.

'_He nodded!'_

THE END.


End file.
